News that famed architect Santiago Calatrava has bowed out of Denver International Airport’s South Terminal Redevelopment Program is concerning. The announcement, made Thursday, follows the airport’s April decision to scuttle Calatrava’s costly “enhancements” to a planned commuter-rail bridge over Peña Boulevard.
While it appears that a primary reason for the most recent development was DIA officials’ insistence that the terminal project remain on time and on budget, which is laudable, it remains to be seen what, if anything, DIA will get for the nearly $13 million it already paid the Spanish architect’s firm.
If DIA officials wasted the money for work that turns out to be unusable, those who pushed for Calatrava should be held accountable.
Stick with Hick on sick leave. The effort to defeat the ill-conceived ballot measure to force employers in Denver to give workers paid sick leave gained an impressive ally this week in Gov. John Hickenlooper.
The former Denver mayor joins current mayor Michael Hancock at the top of the campaign to advise voters to reject Initiative 300 this fall.
Speaking Thursday to the Economic Club of Colorado, a group of the state’s top business executives, Hickenlooper, a former brewpub owner, said: “You could not pick a worse initiative at the present time.”
That’s a message we’d like to hear members of Denver’s City Council repeating.
Don’t text and legislate. If you’ve ever been in a meeting where someone is banging away at their BlackBerry instead of paying attention to what you’re saying, you can understand Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown’s frustration.
Brown has grown so tired of watching his colleagues peck away at their electronic devices during public testimony before the council that he plans to propose a rule to ban the practice. Brown’s chief concerns are respect for the citizenry and possible violations of public meetings rules.
While we’re sympathetic, a rule to tackle texting during hearings shouldn’t be necessary. A simple reminder — via resolution, text or Twitter — to be considerate of the public and a refresher on the state’s open government rules seems a more practical first step.
Short Takes is compiled by Denver Post editorial writers and expresses the view of the newspaper’s editorial board.
